It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
In the first stanza, the speaker describes the setting. He states that it has been many years since the time he is speaking about. He is recalling the life and death of Annabel Lee. He then expresses his great affection for her and gives insight into the loving relationship he had with her.
The speaker illustrates an even deeper love for his Annabel Lee in the second stanza. He states that though they were quite young, they were able to love each other more than anything else. This love ran so deep that it was "more than love" (9). In fact, this love is so remarkable that even the angels envy the two.
The third and fourth stanzas state that his Annabel Lee was taken from him in death. His word choice in these stanzas gives a feeling of great devastation and anger. The speaker claims that the angels took Annabel from him because they envy the love the two share so much.
In the fifth stanza the speaker takes a triumphant stance as he explains that his love for Annabel can overcome anything that stands in its way. No matter what force attempts to tear the two apart, nothing will ever succeed. This he says is due to the strength of the love they shared prior to her death.
In the sixth and final stanza the speaker opens his heart expressing that there is not a day that goes by that he does not think of his love. He recalls her eyes and her beauty in absolute awe. In this stanza you can feel the pain and the sadness of the speaker. He mentions that his life died with Annabel. This suggests that his love for her was so great that she was his life. The speaker now feels as though he is dead with the love of his life.
"Annabel Lee"
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Edgar Allan Poe
In the first stanza, the speaker describes the setting. He states that it has been many years since the time he is speaking about. He is recalling the life and death of Annabel Lee. He then expresses his great affection for her and gives insight into the loving relationship he had with her.
The speaker illustrates an even deeper love for his Annabel Lee in the second stanza. He states that though they were quite young, they were able to love each other more than anything else. This love ran so deep that it was "more than love" (9). In fact, this love is so remarkable that even the angels envy the two.
The third and fourth stanzas state that his Annabel Lee was taken from him in death. His word choice in these stanzas gives a feeling of great devastation and anger. The speaker claims that the angels took Annabel from him because they envy the love the two share so much.
In the fifth stanza the speaker takes a triumphant stance as he explains that his love for Annabel can overcome anything that stands in its way. No matter what force attempts to tear the two apart, nothing will ever succeed. This he says is due to the strength of the love they shared prior to her death.
In the sixth and final stanza the speaker opens his heart expressing that there is not a day that goes by that he does not think of his love. He recalls her eyes and her beauty in absolute awe. In this stanza you can feel the pain and the sadness of the speaker. He mentions that his life died with Annabel. This suggests that his love for her was so great that she was his life. The speaker now feels as though he is dead with the love of his life.